WNC & Associates has closed a $210 million Low-Income Housing Tax Credit fund that will finance 18 affordable housing communities across 13 states, adding or preserving more than 2,000 rental homes.
The vehicle, WNC Institutional Tax Credit Fund 59, L.P., will invest in 2,015 units across Alaska, California, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Nevada and Texas, the company announced.
The portfolio includes seven new-construction communities and 11 preservation deals, two of which involve historic rehabilitations. Five of the properties will serve seniors, while 13 will provide family housing.
For homebuilders and developers, the fund represents another pool of equity capital targeting affordable projects at a time when higher rates, construction costs and tighter capital markets are squeezing project feasibility. LIHTC equity remains one of the few scalable tools available to fill gaps in the capital stack for income-restricted rentals.
Fund 59 will primarily use LIHTCs but also includes properties leveraging Energy Tax Credits and Historic Tax Credits. Layering multiple credit types has become increasingly common as sponsors work to cover rising hard costs and finance energy upgrades that are now embedded in many state allocation plans.
WNC framed the fund as part of a broader response to the national housing shortage. Citing National Low Income Housing Coalition data, the company noted a 7.2 million-home gap in affordable and available rental units for extremely low-income renters.
Founded in 1971, Irvine, California-based WNC and its affiliates have acquired about $21.7 billion in assets across 49 states, including more than 1,770 affordable rental properties serving over 1 million residents, according to the announcement. The firm said it has partnered with more than 400 developers and 175 institutional investors.
The fund is a potential capital source for for-sale builders with affiliated multifamily arms or those partnering on mixed-use or mixed-income communities where LIHTC rentals are part of a larger master plan.
As federal and state policymakers consider expanding LIHTC and related incentives, national funds like WNC’s are positioned to deploy capital quickly into shovel-ready affordable projects, including those embedded in larger master-planned communities where homebuilders play a lead role.
